A wood panel manufacturer, Kronospan Limited, has been fined £400,000 following a workplace accident that resulted in life-changing injuries for a worker.
The incident occurred at the company’s factory in Chirk, near Wrexham, on 31 March 2021, when a pack of waste MDF sheets weighing approximately 350kg fell onto Mark Hughes, a 53-year-old worker from Johnstown.
The falling MDF sheets caused severe injuries to Mr Hughes’s left leg, ultimately leading to an amputation below the knee. The impact of the injury has been profound, requiring Mr Hughes to move to an accessible home. Following over two years away from work, Mr Hughes has returned to Kronospan in a part-time role, but his life and career have been deeply altered by the incident.
“My injury has changed everything in my life, it is like somebody dropped a bomb on our life and never picked up the pieces,” Mr Hughes said. “Everything now just takes a lot of planning to do and spontaneous trips do not happen anymore. I won’t go anywhere that has a lot of steps.”
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“Some days I feel okay but some days after work I feel absolutely knackered. I’ve worked for Kronospan for 27 years and I feel since my accident it would be difficult to find a job somewhere else and start over,” he added. “A lot of my social connection was from work because I used to work a lot of hours. I have a quality of life but it is a lot different than what it used to be.”
Lack of Risk Management
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) conducted an investigation into the incident, which revealed several failings at Kronospan Limited. On the day of the accident, Mr Hughes had loaded waste MDF sheets onto a flatbed trailer for transport across the factory site to be destroyed. When he removed the straps securing the sheets, one pack fell from the trailer and struck him.
The investigation noted the poor condition of the site road, which was riddled with potholes, as a contributing factor. Moreover, Kronospan Limited lacked a suitable risk assessment or a safe system of work for stacking, moving, and loading waste MDF sheets, despite the clear hazards involved.
Kronospan Limited admitted to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £400,000 and ordered to pay costs of £4,701 during a hearing at Wrexham Magistrates Court on 19 November 2024.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Marie Wheeler said, “A man has suffered truly life-changing injuries as a result of this company’s failures. The incident was completely preventable had a proper risk assessment been carried out. Nor did the company have a suitable safe system of work in place.”
